Stand Clear of the Rising Fares

Serving over 5 million New Yorkers daily, the NYC public transit system is the largest in North America and an essential part of city life. Riders across the city are feeling the effects of a fare hike from earlier this year and worrying that more are on the way. Why are fares going up?

In our latest Urban Investigation, CUP worked with Teaching Artist Christina Houle and students from five Bronx high schools to investigate why transit costs what it does and who decides. Students interviewed a number of stakeholders like the chiefspokesman of the MTA, the executive director of a transit advocacy group, a New York State Assembly Member, and a community advocate. They created a short documentary video to share what they learned.

Students debuted their project at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, where they presented the video and shared their creative process with the public.

Check out the video below!

Resources & Links

Bronx Academy for Software Engineering is a small school that teaches students computer programming at a high level and calls on students to engage in creative, solution-oriented problem solving.

Bronx Collaborative High School is a small school that encourages students to investigate real-world challenges while bringing New York City’s unique resources and rich history into the classroom.

Bronx Compass High School is a community of creative learners engaged in the design, production, and exhibition of high-quality, meaningful work.

Bronx International High School is a progressive, team-based and community-based school dedicated to serving the academic and social needs of recently immigrated students and their families.

Funding Support

Major support for this project was provided by Digital Ready, a partnership between the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Post Secondary Readiness and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment; and by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Press

Monday night, the students presented a 12-minute video they made during a summer course with the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). It explains everything from who appoints the MTA board to the size of the gap in the capital budget.